Fantasy Changelings

[Dawn is a Changeling]

She nearly jumped with excitement. "Yes! I love birds! Did you know the feathers in their wings... oh, sorry. I read a lot about birds, especially raptors.

 

[Silverwings]

"Raptors are birds?" Sveni questioned, cocking his head in bewilderment, "I use feathers in my arrows. What were you gonna say?"

 

[Dawn is a Changeling]

"Yes! Raptors are eagles, falcons, hawks, etc. You're using the wing pointer feathers." (fill in info dump because I don't know much about birds) By the end, she was practically glowing with excitement.

 

[Silverwings]

Sveni chuckled, happy to see the girl lighting up, "Oh, wow. Having you around is going to be really useful if we ever do have to hunt birds. Or raise them. Whatever comes first, I'm kinda hoping it's the raising. What else are you this smart about?"

 

[Dawn is a Changeling]

"I'm good at growing plants and music. I used to be really into Ir, uh, British history, detectives, and hamsters. Though I'm sure none of those will come in handy. I also have a feather collection at home, but thats... uh... I don't know what happened to it. It's probably been thrown away..." Her poor feather collection, abandoned and forgotten...

 

[Silverwings]

"Well, the gardening will come in handy, for certain," He nodded, "We can get more crops as we go too. As for music, bot necessarily useless but helps pass the time. I sing a little myself."

 

[Dawn is a Changeling]

She smiled. "Great! Oh, shoot, I should have gotten some catnip. Oh well. Sorry, Brenni. Is there anywhere we can find a falcon nest?" She knew she was getting too excited too fast, but she couldn't help it. "The chicks usually hatch in late April, but they might have nests out right now."

 

[Silverwings]

Sveni hummed in thought. If there were falcons, they'd be likely be further up the mountain. It could take a while to get there, and certainly not in these conditions, "I think so, but we would have to wait for it to dry some. Gets real slippery."

 

[Dawn is a Changeling]

"Ok." She looked out at the foggy forest and spotted movement. "Oh! What about hunting?" She peered closer at the movement and saw a flash of orange. "Aw! A fox!" She had only ever seen one or two. "Oh! Will he hurt Brennigan? What about coyotes! Or mountain lions?" It was only after she said it that she realized she had used Brennigans real, very Irish name. She had said it fast enough that she hoped he wouldn't notice.

 

[Silverwings]

"As long as he don't go down there," Sveni said, getting up to take a look, "We could hunt it, but all they offer it fur. Could make a nice coat for you."

 

[Dawn is a Changeling]

"What? The fox? No, I just thought he was cute. As long as he doesn't touch Brenni," She hugged the cat. "How can he hunt without going down there?" She tied his leash to the bedpost, as she hugged him, just to be safe.

 

[Silverwings]

"He can go down there, just not when something that can kill him is down there," Sveni said, "Besides, we can feed him when he can't hunt for himself. You might want to keep him up her a few days so he understands where home is." Sveni shivered a bit and frowned. A cold was setting in and he would need to transform the shelter to keep cold out, "I suppose if we don't get anything by midday we will have to come back and set up the shelter for bad weather."

 

[Dawn is a Changeling]

"Ok. Should we go?" she pet Brennigan goodbye and started pulling on her boots.

 

[Silverwings]

"Ah, sure. But, uh, don't leave him here," Sveni got up, grabbing a small bag, "Here. In case that fox comes up here. I'd rather not come back to a bloodbath. Keep him with you."

 

[Dawn is a Changeling]

Kennedy's eyes widened and Seanait's heart was filled with horror. She put Brennigan in the bag so quickly he meowed in irritation.

 

[Silverwings]

"Yea, that's my thoughts too," Sveni said as the girl stuffed her cat in the bag. He gathered up his bow and quiver of arrows, "I'll have to make you your own at some point but today, we're using mine."

 

[Dawn is a Changeling]

She nodded and followed him, holding Brennigan close, though he squirmed in the bag, still angry at her ill manners in putting him in. She scanned the tree line, hoping to spot something, but saw nothing. "Where are we going?" Wait- what was that? "I hear chickadees," she whispered, pointing toward the sound and cocking her head to hear better. "Chickadees call around big things, like deer," she added, realizing that probably wasn't common knowledge. She felt proud that her knowledge of birds was going to be helpful. Maybe she had even taught the tough woodsy man something new about the woods? Probably not. But it would be cool...

 

[Silverwings]

Sveni nodded, whispering in response, "Can you hear what direction?" He got his bow ready and crouched to the ground, careful not be as quiet as possible, "Maybe you will find our hunt."

 

[Dawn is a Changeling]

She tiptoed forward, though observed that tiptoeing on leaves wasn't very quiet and was actually quite crunchy. "That way, I think..." she whispered, and pointed to the left.

 

[Silverwings]

Sveni glanced as her, "Ok, get low to the ground like me. And when you move, be slow about shifting your weight. It'll make your steps quieter."

 

[Dawn is a Changeling]

She nodded and complied, trying to peer through the shrubbery. She heard crunching leaves on the other side and tried to see the deer.

 

[Silverwings]

Sveni peered through shrubbery to see a large deer grazing, adorned with an equally large rack of antlers sitting atop its head. What a beauty, He thought as he drew his bow, keeping it low. A loosed arrow would find its spot piercing the buck's temple. The buck jumped, crying out as it stumbled to the ground and fell over within seconds, "All kills are yours from here on."

 

[Dawn is a Changeling]

She watched the deer die and gasped, somewhat shocked and horrified, but pushed down the feelings in favor of eating and surviving. Outwardly, she nodded and looked around, finding the chickadees in the branches. She smiled at them, and glanced around but didn't see any more deer, and felt a bit of relief.

 

[Silverwings]

"I know. It doesn't feel great, but we will make sure his life wasnt in vain," Sveni said as he stood, making his way through the brush to the deer as it's dying breaths we're released. He knelt down, offering a whispered prayer of thanks before pulling the arrow from it's head, "He was an old boy. Look at the graying in his muzzle. He's had a lot of victories."

 

[Dawn is a Changeling]

She nodded hesitantly. "Should I really be shooting at deer? Wouldn't it be more practical to shoot at targets?" She had only ever shot a bow once before at a summer camp as a kid, and hadn't done well.